Welcome back to the blog readers. As you know by now, I am a big proponent of superhero films because they are just as enjoyable as other films I have seen. The fun with these films (Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)) is solely based on the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom, which is as awesome as it is amazing to see. With this new film out, and with the recent failures (I would personally call them tragedies) of Morbius (2022) and Madame Web (2024), would we be following the same trend or would we get back to the fun? Stick around to find out.
Venom: The Last Dance was directed by Kelly Marcel from a screenplay by Marcel and a story by Marcel and Tom Hardy, based on Marvel Comics and characters created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. The film stars Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, and the voice of Andy Serkis. In the film, Eddie Brock and Venom find themselves on the run when both of their worlds are out to hunt them.
So here's the thing about the Venom franchise thus far. Normally there is not much discourse between the critics and the audience on how good or bad a film is, and if there is there is not much. But it seems like the critics do not like these films, but the audience does. So when I saw the negative critic reviews for this film, I had a feeling the audience would react more positively; what I did not expect was for the audience to agree with the critics on this. And unfortunately, I agree with the critics that this film is a disappointment.
I do want to start with two of the things I did like about this film. Even if Venom and Let There Be Carnage had been terrible, the one throughline about those films was the performance of Tom Hardy and the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom. I consider these one in the same because Hardy does voice Venom by the way. And the dynamic between Brock and Venom has always been the selling point of these films because it is so fun and Hardy makes it so likable. I agree that this is the case for this film as well. Hardy knows this character so well that he is able to recognize that the fans enjoy this so he is able to tap into it and lean into it effectively.
Finally. I want to praise the ending of the film for being everything I could have wanted from a finale. I will go into the main details of the rest of the film later, but I do believe that the final third of the film is the best part of it. I do have to say one of the things that the Venom films do right is their action sequences, and the major action sequence at the end of this film features all the symbiote action you could want and it definitely has all of the emotion you could want from the final film of a trilogy.
Unfortunately, this is where the positives end for me. If I am going to be honest with you, the rest of the film is about as confusing as my love life. One of those things that I find to be confusing is the rest of the performances in this film. Juno Temple really has nothing to do in this film until the end and what she does have is a letdown. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a phenomenal actor and feels wasted in this role where he really does nothing in this film. Stephen Graham is virtually useless as his character is nothing but exposition dump and time-wasting. Rhys Ifans really needs to get his ass back to Westeros because his character and his family are basically pointless. Peggy Lu really did not need to be in this film and her one-scene performance is wasted. Finally, Andy Serkis as Knull made me care less about the future of this character than I already did.
Finally, I would like to discuss the poor writing of this film. Now don't get me wrong, the writing for this franchise has not been the best, but there was just enough of what we liked to the point that we did not care about the writing. But the problem is that since Let There Be Carnage, we have had Morbius and Madame Web. Two of the worst scripts I have ever seen, and I fear that writer-director Kelly Marcel either found herself inspired by that garbage or rushed for time by some bullshit studio mandate. The writing in this film makes absolutely no sense and somehow manages to break its own canon and introduce things that make no sense. Like for example, there is a plot device that is introduced in this film that could have been explained in a previous film based on things that have previously happened.
In conclusion, Venom: The Last Dance is a disappointment in almost every way and fails to capitalize on the things that make this franchise fun. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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